Piracy

Dot Map

Photo by the United States Navy on Wikimedia Commons

111218-N-ZZ999-070 GULF OF ADEN (Dec 19, 2011) A visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team from guided missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91), approached a suspected pirate after the Motor Vessel Nordic Apollo reported being under attack and fired upon by pirates. Pinckney is assigned to Combined Task Force 151, a multi-national, mission-based task force working under Combined Maritime Forces, to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)

They’re not here to fish…
— Captain Phillips

Ingest

Anti-Shipping Activity Messages

Anti-shipping Activity Messages (ASAM) include the locations and descriptive accounts of specific hostile acts against ships and mariners.

df <- read.csv("archetypes/piracy/nga-anti-shipping-activity-messages.csv", header = TRUE, stringsAsFactors = FALSE)
head(df, n = 10)

Wrangle

create navarea boundaries

navarea_boundaries <- df %>% select(navarea, x, y) %>%
  group_by(navarea) %>%
  summarise(
    xmin = min(x, na.rm = T),
    xmax = max(x, na.rm = T),
    ymin = min(y, na.rm = T),
    ymax = max(y, na.rm = T),
    count = n()
  )

navarea_boundaries

Base map

coastline

# ne_world <- ne_countries(scale = "small", returnclass = "sf")
ne_coastline <- ne_coastline(scale = "small", returnclass = "sf")

View

dot map with shape by victim vessel type (or hostility type) and navarea boundaries

Hostility Type

Naval Engagement
Pirate Assault
Other
Unknown
Kidnapping
Suspicious Approach
Robbery
Attempted Boarding
Mothership Activity
Hijacking

Victim Vessel Type

Vessel
Cargo Ship
Other
Merchant Vessel
Tanker
Sailing Vessel
Fishing Vessel
Tugboat
Unknown
Passenger Ship

Barge
Offshore Vessel
Anchored Ship

theme_opts <- theme(
  text = element_text(family = "inconsolata"), 
  plot.title = element_text(color = "#111111", size = 14, face = "bold", family = "inconsolata"),
  plot.subtitle = element_text(color = "#111111", size = 11, family = "inconsolata"),
  plot.caption = element_text(color = "#111111", size = 8, family = "inconsolata"),
  plot.background = element_blank(),
  panel.grid = element_blank(),
  panel.grid.major = element_blank(),
  panel.grid.minor = element_blank(),
  panel.background = element_rect(fill="white", colour="black"),
  panel.border = element_blank(),
  axis.text = element_blank(),
  axis.line = element_blank(),
  axis.ticks = element_blank(),
  axis.title = element_blank(),
  legend.title = element_blank()
)

# to limit bounds of map view
xmin <- min(df$x)
xmax <- max(df$x)
ymin <- min(df$y)
ymax <- max(df$y)

# shape scale option for variable hostilit_D
hostility_type <- c(
  "Naval Engagement" = 1,
  "Pirate Assault" = 2,
  "Other" = 3,
  "Unknown" = 4,
  "Kidnapping" = 5,
  "Suspicious Approach" = 6,
  "Robbery" = 7,
  "Attempted Boarding" = 8,
  "Mothership Activity" = 9,
  "Hijacking" = 10
)

# shape scale option for variable victim_l_D
victim_vessel_type <- c(
  "Vessel" = 1,
  "Cargo Ship" = 2,
  "Other" = 3,
  "Merchant Vessel" = 4,
  "Tanker" = 5,
  "Sailing Vessel" = 6,
  "Fishing Vessel" = 7,
  "Tugboat" = 8,
  "Unknown" = 9,
  "NA" = 10,
  "Passenger Ship" = 11,
  "Barge" = 12,
  "Offshore Vessel" = 13,
  "Anchored Ship" = 14
)

vw <- ggplot(data = ne_coastline) +
  geom_sf(fill="#f0f0f0", color="#888888", stroke=0.5) +
  geom_rect(data = navarea_boundaries, mapping=aes(xmin=xmin, xmax=xmax, ymin=ymin, ymax=ymax, color = count), fill=NA, alpha=0.5) +
  geom_text(data = navarea_boundaries, aes(x=xmin+(xmax-xmin)/2, y=ymin+(ymax-ymin)/2, label=navarea), size=4, family = "inconsolata") +
  geom_point( data = df, aes(x=x, y=y, shape = victim_l_D ), size=1.25, alpha = 0.7 ) +
  scale_shape_manual( values = victim_vessel_type ) +
  scale_colour_stepsn(colours = c("black", "orange", "red"), guide = "none") +
  coord_sf(xlim = c(xmin, xmax), ylim = c(ymin, ymax)) +
  labs(x=NULL,
       y=NULL,
       title = "Anti-Shipping Activity Messages", 
       subtitle="with navarea zones") +
  theme_bw() +
  theme_opts + 
  theme(legend.position = "top")

girafe(ggobj = vw, width_svg = 16, height_svg = 6.20,
       options = list(opts_sizing(rescale = TRUE, width = 1.0)))

iv <- filter(navarea_boundaries, navarea == "IV")
v <- filter(navarea_boundaries, navarea == "V")

viv <- ggplot(data = ne_coastline) +
  geom_sf(fill="#f0f0f0", color="#888888", stroke=0.5) +
  geom_point( data = df, aes(x=x, y=y, shape = victim_l_D ), size=4.0, alpha = 0.7 ) +
  scale_shape_manual( values = victim_vessel_type ) +
  coord_sf(xlim = c(iv$xmin, iv$xmax), ylim = c(iv$ymin, iv$ymax)) +
  labs(x=NULL,
       y=NULL,
       title = "NAVAREA IV", 
       subtitle=NULL) +
  theme_bw() +
  theme_opts +
  theme(legend.position = "none")

vv <- ggplot(data = ne_coastline) +
  geom_sf(fill="#f0f0f0", color="#888888", stroke=0.5) +
  geom_point( data = df, aes(x=x, y=y, shape = victim_l_D ), size=4.0, alpha = 0.7 ) +
  scale_shape_manual( values = victim_vessel_type ) +
  coord_sf(xlim = c(v$xmin, v$xmax), ylim = c(v$ymin, v$ymax)) +
  labs(x=NULL,
       y=NULL,
       title = "NAVAREA V", 
       subtitle=NULL) +
  theme_bw() +
  theme_opts +
  theme(legend.position = "none")

girafe(code = print(viv + vv), width_svg = 16, height_svg = 8.75,
       options = list(opts_sizing(rescale = TRUE, width = 1.0)))

References

Citations and data sources

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, ANTI-SHIPPING ACTIVITY MESSAGES, https://msi.nga.mil/Piracy